Sock Pouch

ABSTRACT

A sleeve pouch may be provided. The sleeve pouch may be formed through the attachment of an elastic annular member to a sleeve member, wherein the space between the two surfaces forms a pouch capable of storing objects.

RELATED APPLICATION

Under provisions of 35 U.S.C. §119(e), the Applicant claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/887,902, filed on Oct. 7, 2013, which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

People frequently need to carry small and medium sized items on their person, but are limited due to restrictions for carrying bags or when clothing styles do not have pockets suitable for transporting personal items. Tucking an item in a regular sock is problematic because a conventional sock does not prevent the item from sliding down the leg or contacting the skin.

Several prior art inventions are related to attaching and/or concealing a pocket into a sock. However, these prior inventions are limited in several ways. Some include a pocket of limited shape and size by providing defined boundaries that form the sides, bottom, and tops of the pocket or cavity, which also limits the size of objects stored within. Some prior art inventions provide for the pocket location to be fixed, thereby limiting the ability of the wearer to store an item at different locations along the vertical axis of the sock (and likewise the wearer's leg). Some prior art inventions limit the pocket or cavity shape, by providing, for example, a rectangular pocket, which limits the shape of objects that may be stored inside.

There are also limitations of existing products and devices that are used for transporting small items by means of a pocket, mounted on the shoe belt or pant leg. These limitations include: size/capacity constraints, difficulty to manufacture, complexity of design, and movable parts such as zippers or fasteners.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this disclosure, illustrate various embodiments of the present disclosure. The drawings contain representations of various trademarks and copyrights owned by the Applicant. In addition, the drawings may contain other marks owned by third parties and are being used for illustrative purposes only. All rights to various trademarks and copyrights represented herein, except those belonging to their respective owners, are vested in and the property of the Applicant. The Applicant retains and reserves all rights in her trademarks and copyrights included herein, and grant permission to reproduce the material only in connection with reproduction of the granted patent and for no other purpose. For the purposes of illustration, there are shown in the drawings, the preferred arrangement and manufacturing technique; it is understood that the invention is not limited to this precise arrangement. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a sock pouch;

FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a sock pouch;

FIG. 3 illustrates a second cross-sectional view of a sock pouch;

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of a sock pouch in use.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the following description to refer to the same or similar elements. While many embodiments of the present invention may be described, modifications, adaptations, and other implementations are possible. For example, substitutions, additions, or modifications may be made to the elements illustrated in the drawings, and the methods described herein may be modified by substituting, reordering, or adding stages to the disclosed methods. The present disclosure may contain headers. It should be understood that these headers are used as references and are not to be construed in any way as limiting upon the subjected matter disclosed under the header.

I. Overview

Consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure, a sock pouch may be provided. This overview is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below. This overview is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter. Nor is this overview intended to be used to limit the claimed subject matter's scope.

A sleeve member of the present disclosure may comprise a pouch for carrying items of various sizes and shapes at various locations along the vertical axis and the circumference of the sleeve member. The sleeve pouch may be comprised of an elastic annular member and a sleeve member. A lower edge of the annular member may be attached to an outside surface of a sleeve member. The attachment between the lower edge of the annular member and the sleeve member may be configured at any position below an upper edge of the sleeve member. In this way, at least a portion of an inner surface of the annular member may overlap at least a portion of the outer surface of the sleeve member. This overlap may form an annular pouch. The elastic annular member may be operable to stretch and expand an internal space of the annular pouch. The internal area of the annular pouch may, in turn, be used to store an item for storage. The annular member's elastic characteristics may secure the item in the annular pouch, thereby ‘hugging’ the item to the sleeve member.

Although embodiments of the present disclosure refer to the sleeve member as a sock member, and a sleeve pouch as a sock pouch, it should be understood that the embodiments of the present disclosure refer to a ‘sock’ or a ‘sleeve’ as any article of clothing having at least one pliant, generally cylindrical portion through which an appendage of an individual may be placed.

Both the foregoing overview and the following detailed description provide examples and are explanatory only. Accordingly, the foregoing overview and the following detailed description should not be considered to be restrictive. Further, features or variations may be provided in addition to those set forth herein. For example, embodiments may be directed to various feature combinations and sub-combinations described in the detailed description.

Consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure, a sock pouch may enable a wearer to store and carry a variety of items of various shapes and sizes. For example, a sock pouch may store one or more keys, currency, credit cards, IDs, pencils, pens, rulers, and many other objects. A sock pouch may provide a snug fit to hold objects in place, even during vigorous activity or motion, such as running for example. Furthermore, a sock pouch may enable concealment of a stored item if the size and shape of the item are sufficient to fit completely within the sock pouch.

FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of a sock pouch 100 in accordance with the present disclosure. The sock pouch may be comprised of a sock member 101, and an elastic annular member 102, wherein the elastic annular member 102 is attached to an outer surface of sock member 101 by an attachment means 103. The attachment means may comprise, for example, stitching, Velcro, straps, or the like. In some embodiments, annular member 102 may be attached solely due to the strong elastic nature of annular member 102. For example, annular member 102 may create an elastic compression force, similar to the force created by a rubber band when it is placed around an object.

Consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure, the sock member 101 may be a sock of conventional construction, such as those worn on people's feet. In other embodiments, the sock member may comprise a sleeve. A sleeve may be a substantially cylindrical piece of fabric designed to be worn on an individual's arm or leg. In various embodiments the sock member 101 may be made of a variety of different materials typically used for socks, such as, but not limited to, cotton, wool, nylon, acrylic, polyester, olefins, spandex, silk, linen, cashmere or mohair. Furthermore, in various embodiments sock member 101 may be made constructed of various shapes and sizes. The elastic annular member 102 may be comprised of a substantially cylindrical-shaped, stretchable fabric that adheres to the sock member 101.

The elastic annular member 102 may have a lower edge and an upper edge. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the attachment means 103 may attach the lower edge, or substantially the lower edge, of the elastic annular member 102 to the outer surface of sock member 101, thereby forming the bottom portion of a pouch. In some embodiments, the attachment means 103 may be comprised of stitching. However, it should be understood that attachment means 103 may be any suitable means used to attach fabrics together known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

The remainder of the pouch may be comprised of the annular space between the outer surface of the sock member 101 and the inner surface of the elastic annular member 102. It should be understood that, in order to form a space between the outer surface of the sock member 101 and the inner surface of the elastic annular member 102, the attachment of the lower edge of annular member 102 to the sock member 101 must occur substantially below the upper edge of the sock member 101, such that at least a portion of the inner surface of the elastic annular member is touching the outer surface of sock member 101. FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of sock pouch 100 wherein the entirety of the inner surface of the elastic annular member 102 may be touching the outer surface of the sock member 101.

An object may be placed within the annular shaped sock pouch and the elastic annular member 102 may be operable to expand around the object, holding it securely in the pouch. Depending on the size and shape of the object placed into the pouch, the elastic properties of the elastic annular member 102 may allow it to fully envelop the object, or in the case of a larger object (e.g., a ruler), the object may stick out of the top of the pouch, but nonetheless be secured in place by the elastic annular member 102.

FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-sectional view 200 through line 1-1 of FIG. 1, where sock member 101 may be seen from the top and is surrounded by pouch component 102 and the attachment means 103. The expandable storage pouch that is formed may be located between sock member 101 and elastic annular member 102. The storage pouch, which may cover the entire circumference of the sock member 101, may begin where sock member 101 and elastic annular member 102 are joined together at attachment means 103, and may extend vertically up the sock member 101 to varying lengths.

Elastic annular member 102 may be made of an elastic, stretchable material, and, therefore, the vertical span of the pouch may vary based on the stretching of the elastic annular member 102. The elastic annular member 102 may be comprised of a material such that it fits snuggly around the sock member 101 when pulled over a wearer's limb. As previously noted, the material of elastic annular member 102 may be made of a stretchable fabric material that may be capable of expanding to accommodate objects of a variety of sizes.

FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-sectional view 300 through line 2-2 of FIG. 1, where the side cut-away can be seen with sock member 101, elastic annular member 102 and attachment means 103. The elastic annular member 102 may wrap around the circumference of sock member 101 in one integral piece, thereby forming a pouch that may surround sock member 101. Still consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure, the annular member 102 may be comprised of multiple pieces attached by, for example, straps or Velcro. For example, the multiple pieces of the annular member may comprise strips of rectangular materials with connection points at each end, enabling a user to connect the strips into a form of the annular member 102.

FIG. 3 further illustrates one method for attaching elastic annular member 102 to the sock member 101, by use of attachment means 103. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, the attachment means 103 may be stitching. FIG. 3 further illustrates that the elastic annular member 102 is connected to the sock member 101 by stitching at substantially the bottom edge of the elastic annular member 102. It should be understood that a static connection point may not be present in all embodiments of the present disclosure. Rather, the connection between the annular member 102 and the sock member 101 may be due to, for example, the elastic forces of the annular member 102 exerted upon the sock member 101, thereby holding the annular member 102 in a resting place adjacent to the sock member 101.

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of an object 405 stored within sock pouch 100. For the purposes of illustration, the object in FIG. 4 may be a cell phone, which is not part of the invention. From this view it may be easy to see how a variety of items, including, but not limited to cell phones, currency, pencils, medicines, and the like may be stored easily in the sock pouch. FIG. 4 illustrates that the object 405 may be secured in place in the pouch, between the inside face of the elastic annular member 102 and the outer face of the sock member 101. As the elastic annular member 102 adheres to the sock member 101, the object 405 may be secured in place. However, another object may also be pushed completely within the pouch or rotated to any position around the diameter of the sock pouch based on the size and shape of the other object and according to the preference of the wearer. As such, an object 405 may be stored in the pouch at any position around the circumference of the sock member 101, and at any height of sock member 101, where the elastic annular member 102 is covering sock member 101. Furthermore, in the event that gravity may cause the object 405 to slide downwards, the bottom of the pouch, which may be created by the joining of elastic annular member 102 to sock member 101 at attachment means 103, may prevent the object 405 from sliding out of the pouch.

All rights including copyrights in the illustrations included herein are vested in and the property of the Applicant. The Applicant retains and reserves all rights in the illustrations included herein, and grants permission to reproduce the material only in connection with reproduction of the granted patent and for no other purpose.

While the specification includes examples, the present invention's scope is indicated by the following claims. Furthermore, while the specification has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, the claims are not limited to the features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example for embodiments of the invention. 

The following is claimed:
 1. A sock having a pouch comprising: a sock member; and an elastic annular member having a bottom edge and a top edge, said bottom edge of said elastic annular member being connected to an outer surface of said sock member at a position below a top edge of the sock member; wherein said elastic annular member and said sock member forms an annular space; wherein said elastic annular member is operable to secure an item to the sock member within the annular space.
 2. The sock having a pouch of claim 1, wherein the elastic annular member is made of a stretchable fabric.
 3. The sock having a pouch of claim 1, wherein the elastic annular member is connected to the sock member by means of stitching.
 4. The sock having a pouch of claim 1, wherein the sock member comprises a sock of conventional construction.
 5. The sock having a pouch of claim 1, wherein the sock member comprises a sleeve.
 6. The sock having a pouch of claim 1, wherein the annular member comprises one or more members attached together.
 7. A storage compartment within an article of clothing comprising: a sleeve member comprising at least one cylindrical shape; and an annular member configured to surround a portion of the sleeve member; wherein the annular member is configured to join the sleeve member such that the surrounded portion of the sleeve member faces an area of an inner surface of the annular member; wherein the area of the inner surface of the annular member and the surrounded portion of the sleeve member form a pouch for storing items.
 8. The storage compartment of claim 7, wherein the annular member exerts a force upon the sleeve member through elastic compression.
 9. The storage compartment of claim 7, wherein one edge of the annular member is attached to the sleeve member.
 10. The storage compartment of claim 8, wherein the force exerted by the annular member enables a securing of an object to the sleeve member.
 11. The storage compartment of claim 8, wherein the pouch is configured to contain the object completely within the pouch.
 12. The storage compartment of claim 8, wherein the pouch is configured to partially contain the object within the pouch.
 13. The storage compartment of claim 9, wherein the sleeve member comprises a sock.
 14. The storage compartment of claim 9, wherein the sleeve member comprises an arm sleeve.
 15. The storage compartment of claim 9, wherein the sleeve member comprises a leg sleeve.
 16. A sleeve comprising: a sleeve member comprising at least one pliant, generally cylindrical piece of material; and an elastic, generally cylindrical material having a bottom edge which is connected to the outer surface of the sleeve member; a flexible storage compartment within the space between the inner surface of the elastic material and the outer surface of the sleeve member.
 17. The sleeve of claim 16, wherein the elastic material elastically hugs the outside surface of the sleeve member.
 18. The sleeve of claim 16, wherein the elastic material is configured to expand away from the outer surface of the sleeve member in response to an object being placed within the flexible storage compartment.
 19. The sleeve of claim 16, wherein an upper edge of the elastic material does not extend beyond an upper edge of the sleeve member.
 20. The sleeve of claim 16, wherein the bottom edge of the elastic material is stitched to the outer surface of the sleeve member. 